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BVI company incorporation figures show continued decline

21/11/2013

Incorporation figures declined nearly 18 percent during the second quarter of 2013 compared to the same period during the previous year

Company incorporators in the Virgin Islands formed 29,144 companies during the first six months of 2013, about 400 fewer than were formed in the first six months of 2012, according to recently released statistics from the Financial Services Commission.

Annual company incorporation figures, a key measure of the health of the overall financial services industry, have yet to recover fully after suffering a sharp drop from 2007 highs due to the global slowdown in economic activity.

Fund registrations have also seen a steady decline in recent years, with fewer professional, private and public funds being formed. During Q2 2010, for example, there were 2,956 funds of all types formed in the BVI, but by the most recent quarter, that number shrank to 2,277 funds overall.

However, investment businesses, a field that was opened up with the passage of the 2010 Securities and Investment Business Act, appear to be growing slowly. Four new investment business licenses were granted in Q2 2013, bringing the total number of such licenses issued by the FSC to 524.